Glacier Peak

After years of trying, we finally made it up to climb Glacier Peak. At 10,541', it is the fifth highest peak in Washington. It is located northeast of Seattle, way out in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, all aspects of the 15 mile approach are beautiful. It is hard to keep your eyes on the trail. The forest features huge Douglas fir and cedar trees.
The trail goes through about 7 miles of forest and then climbs up to join the Pacific Crest Trail. The hillsides are covered in Heather and numerous wildflowers. We must have crossed 20 small streams on the way.
After almost 10 miles of hiking, we get our first look at the mountain. At this point we are still several hours from our high camp.
The clouds started to roll in during the night. We had to get going earlier than we had planned to try to summit while we had a chance. Our route took us over parts of the Gerdine and Cool Glaciers. This large crevasse was near Disappointment Peak.
Climbers nearing the top.
Emily, Doug and Dave on the summit. The Glacier Peak Wilderness is full of inviting snow covered peaks.
We broke camp and started the long hike back to the car. As we headed out, clouds began to cover the mountain. Pretty soon we could hear distant thunder.
We saw a few marmots along the way.
Tiger Lilies beside the trail.
We made it back to the car before dark. The downpour began soon after that.
With the low elevation trailhead, the long approach and a lot of ups and downs, this climb was as taxing as climbing Mt. Rainier. It was nice to finally stand on top of the mountain that we have seen so many times from other summits.